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Do you think that the removal of Gyms is permanent?

Do you think that Gyms are gone forever?

  • Yes, it's time to do something different.

    Votes: 14 23.7%
  • No, GameFreak won't make a change that drastic.

    Votes: 47 79.7%

  • Total voters
    59
  • Poll closed .

RileyXY1

Young Battle Trainer
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Hi. Riley here. I'm gonna ask you a question. Now that we know that gyms will be removed in favor of the Island Challenge, do you think that gyms are gone forever? Or, will they come back in future gens? Let me know your opinions on whether or not gyms should stay in future entries.
 
Well I do doubt there's always going to be Island Trials from now on, that seems like an Alola only thing. But it would also be weird to just go back to gyms after having made such a drastic change. So maybe gyms will be back later, but I do think they will be different. Maybe not all of them will require battling, but other also quests, just like with the Trial Captains.
 
Nah, gyms will be back. This is just gonna be a fun, creative detour--exploring another system. Gyms might not be back every game, but I think we will see them return more often than not as the old standard.
 
There's two paths here.

1. The removal of gyms is a once-off due to Alola being a more traditional and cultural region. The Island Trials will heavily reflect this diverse tradition and culture.

2. They are going to implement something similar in almost every new generation from now on. Gyms will always appear in the occasional remake now and then.
 
Any future remakes will retain their normal Gym systems.

As for new generation games, they obviously won't use the "Island Challenge" as that is specific to Alola, but I would like to think that they would continue to look for new ways to tinker with the structure.
 
If the Island Trial proves popular with fans I can see them reworking gyms into more varied activities like them. I think it all depends on SM's reception and how much people like the changes. It's hard to really say without knowing how the Island Trial works though - if you battle the Trial Captains during their trial (which we don't have confirmation on iirc) then they really aren't that different to gyms. They're just gyms that aren't all confined to a tiny building and have more interactive challenges rather than mazes. So the differences between the two won't be that... different.
 
I pretty much agree with Zeb. Obviously gyms will be back in whatever remakes we get next, but whether or not the standard gym format will be altered probably depends on the reception of Alola's Island Trial system.
 
Island Challenges are too Alola-centric at the moment. I personally can't see them lasting longer than Sun and Moon.
 
First off, I freaking love the idea of Island Trials and Alola not having any Gyms. It adds an incredible depth to the world of Pokemon, more than people give it credit for from what I've seen, to have different regions develop a different culture for testing Pokemon trainers.

That said, Gyms have been around for 20 years of Pokemon and are a staple of the franchise, even though some use them as an example of the games not changing. I think this will be more of an experiment to see how more interactive challenges are accepted, as opposed to the sometimes-straightforward-sometimes-maze-like Gyms with the final boss being at the end. Gyms will be back in the Gen 4 remakes/next Generation, I bet my 3DS on it.
 
I don't think so. Island Trails seem like they were especially made for the Alola region, so I don't think we'll be seeing them in any in the place of gyms in future games unless they make another multi-island based region. Gyms are an iconic part of the series and I can't see them being done away with forever.

With all that said, I'm super excited for the Island Trails. Imo, they seem like they'll be much more interesting that gyms since it's more than just walking in a building, defeating the leader, and then moving on. I wouldn't mind if gyms were altered in future games to make them more diverse like the trails are.
 
I think Island Trials are Alola Exclusive,b ut the concept and structure is the future. Going forward, a one game, expansion style model for the games is easily the best solution, and having an all 18 type main game every 4 years is the way to go with rising development costs and what not. Legacy games like remakes or sequels that reintroduce gyms can work, and way in the future when Alola and later gens get remakes for example can follow this.
 
I think island trials and totem Pokémon are an Alolan thing and gyms will be back. Like stated above, they may just be testing the water and depending on how well we handle them mixing up the formula, it may determine how gyms will be implemented in the next games.
 
Well, aside from having gyms in remakes, I guess they'd test the popularity of Island Trials before deciding whether to include gyms or new stuff in future generations.
 
First off, I freaking love the idea of Island Trials and Alola not having any Gyms. It adds an incredible depth to the world of Pokemon, more than people give it credit for from what I've seen, to have different regions develop a different culture for testing Pokemon trainers.

That said, Gyms have been around for 20 years of Pokemon and are a staple of the franchise, even though some use them as an example of the games not changing. I think this will be more of an experiment to see how more interactive challenges are accepted, as opposed to the sometimes-straightforward-sometimes-maze-like Gyms with the final boss being at the end. Gyms will be back in the Gen 4 remakes/next Generation, I bet my 3DS on it.
Want me to hold you to that?

Either way I don't see them going with such a big change and then going back on it immediately. I guess I could see it but I don't think it's that likely. Obviously any remakes will feature gyms though. Personally I would like if gyms didn't come back outside of remakes since change is more interesting and it's the main thing that makes me actually interested in Sun and Moon's actual in game playthrough. I stopped beating the games after Black and White (I plan on doing it later but I lost interest enough to spend the last year trying new games instead).

I don't think Alola's trial system will be what they stick with either though. It's obviously tied with Alola specifically. I just think they'll do something different every game now in order to shake things up, which I couldn't be happier for.
 
Personally I think of this as the orange islands of games. Not in terms of filler like the season was but in terms of how the challenges in universe were set up.

Like they were called gym challenges but they were very much not traditional gym challenges in the least and we're more open and not bound by leauge rules due to being unoffical and separate from the main Pokemon league.

This is what I see them doing with the island trials. Alola operating separately from the Pokemon league and doing their own thing.

Maybe the lore will make it out as the trials were something that were common place during the time of apricorn pokeballs and Alola held on to the tradition being an archipelago rather than a densely populated metropolitan area. A place where trainers go for vacation rather than fighting.

The thing is they really spent a lot of time building up the leauge as this worldwide organization to just dump it. So I see the structured gyms coming back in VIII.

The only time I don't see gyms coming back is if maybe there's another game set on a bunch of islands or there's a game set in the past or something.
 
I subscribe to the theory that Pokemon will undergo a reboot in the next five years, be it large or small, and the Trial Captains are the beta, a pacifier for the fandom.

It's been 20 years and with the addition of so many old and new fans through PokemonGo, mixing up the formula can only help.
 
Remakes will keep the gyms, as they should, but who knows about any new gen titles. It'd be nice if they did more different before they made a return to the gym formula, but who knows. GF have loved trying different things for a long time now, and I hope they continue to shake things up.
 
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